A Day in the Life of a CrossFit Trainer

So as I think about my first blog post, which is essentially telling you about my daily life, I think back to all the videos I’ve seen like “Days in the Life of Rich Froning” or articles on Julie Foucher’s full time student status. But you know what’s crazy when you watch/read all this stuff about elite CrossFit Games competitors? Well here it is: The CrossFit870 trainer crew isn’t a whole lot different. Most of us have full time commitments outside our work at 870, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love our job and give you 100% the 5-10 hours we work with you on a weekly basis.

I think it’s a huge misconception that CrossFit trainers just work out all-day-every-day, so I’m here to clear up that myth. Okay so again…CrossFit trainers DO NOT work out all-day-every-day. That’s just dumb, and anyone who knows anything about exercise science will agree. I’m not afraid to say that at 870 we have one of the most qualified staffs in the country. If you didn’t know, almost all your trainers have at least a bachelor’s degree in exercise science. SHOUT OUT!

Okay, so back at the task at hand, daily life for a CrossFit trainer. We are all different, I mean, Chris runs the place from 6am-6pm almost daily by programming, training, and everything business related. While JERMERY (yes it’s in caps because he likes to yell, and FYI, prove you’re willing to work hard and his yelling can turn into one of your biggest forms of motivation) works as a trainer, and also has numerousclasses/work duties over at The Trim Gym. Nick is a full time student-athlete. And Evelyn and Tim both have jobs outside of CrossFit.

Now whoops, I forgot someone didn’t I? Oh yeah, Carl. Well Carl and I both work at Black River Technical College in Pocahontas, AR (bet a lot of you didn’t know that). I may/may not have been coaxed into applying to this job through Carl who thought I would be perfect for it. So see, tons of opportunities can arise from the people you meet in your CrossFit community. Thanks man!

At BRTC I run the Physical Education department so I teach somewhere around 18 hours of PE classes per semester. I lecture every single day (usually end up giving the same lecture4x) and I make my students workout every day in class. And YES, I use CrossFit techniques, very similar to the Open Ramp classes I teach, but a little more toned down. Oh and, I’m the feared faculty on campus, everyone knows who I am, and they think I’m trying to kill everyone (but no one has ever come close to dying or ever even got sick, so exaggerated much?). If you’re reading this I hope you’re laughing, because every time I hear that statement I think “Are you kidding? People are scared of ME?...SCORE!” Well that is, until the end of the semester and my students love me because they know how to exercise and how to reevaluate their nutrition, which has helped them lose 10-20lbs, and made them feel 100x better about themselves.

3:00p.m. WHATS IMPORTANT NOW! That’s our motto in the Law Enforcement Training Academy and at 3.m. WIN is Physical Training.

We spent at least 1 ½ hours every day running our police recruits through some type of workout. We do all the pre and post basic tests you would see at any typical police academy BUT what we do between those is much different. Did you guess it already? CROSSFIT! Yup, we start them off with the basics and work from there. Every Tuesday we hit up a Law Enforcement HERO workout and every Thursday we work on Gracie Survival Tactics. Sounds fun right? Well it is, if you program it right. We have 50 people workout out each day at same time, and that can be overwhelming, but we are a greatteamand things usually go off without a hitch. It’s really cool to know after most of the recruits leave here, they never forget how hard we pushed them and how much fun they had while we were yelling in their face to push harder!

5:30p.m.-7:30p.m. ________________ (I shouldn’t have to tell you haha) but I’m working at the gym.

Wait, when I did get to workout? That’s a good question. I coach people through exercise techniques and workouts every day but finding time for me to actually get in a good work outcan prove to be difficult. I have to adjust it every day, sometimes I can sneak my workout into an afternoon after I teach a class but before PT begins (luxury of having a CF equipped gym right down the hall). Or if we finish PT a little early I’ll rush to 870 and try and get done before I have to coach. And sometimes I even have to stay after my CrossFit classes to finish anything I missed for the day. But I never give up. I know this hard work is going to pay off one day, I just have to stay focused! Soooo moving on…

8:00p.m. Finally get home after being away for 12 hours. Cook my dinner. And get ready for bed so I can wake up and do it all over again.

I’m really fortunate to have not only 1, but 2 jobs where I get to share my passion for fitness. No, I’m not like Rich Froning and training college athletes, or in med school like Julie Foucher. But I’m still training people, and making a difference in people’s lives that otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity, like low-middle class rural kids and adults who have never exercised a day in their life, or the future of the police force in Arkansas. I take pride in what I do, and although I’m busy almost all day long, I always make time to research new techniques. If you’re my Facebook friend, you know this (if not, add me) I’m always sharing videos I’ve watched or articles I’ve read.

So see, being a CrossFit trainer can be both really exciting and very exhausting but I wouldn’t have it any other way!